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ITDC's golden handshake a hit outside Delhi

Parul Gupta

In a move likely to make the divestment of India Tourism Development Corporation more lucrative, a large proportion of employees at all the 14 hotels that have been put on the block in the third and the fourth tranches have opted for voluntary retirement.

The employees who have opted for the golden handshake include 72 of the 78 in Patna, 39 of the 40 in Kovalam, around 60 of the 72 in Aurangabad, 92 of the 108 in Jaipur and 47 of the 55 in Jammu.

In the Delhi hotels, however, the response to the scheme has been poorer. Only 288 of the 580 employees at the Kanishka Ashok opted for voluntary retirement and 189 of the 372 employees at the Indraprastha Ashok have taken the offer. At the Ranjit, 52 of the 152 employees applied for it.

More lucrative retirement schemes being offered at the Lodhi and Qutab hotels after the new owners came in is being cited as the reason for the low turnout in the Delhi hotels. The new managements at the Lodhi and the Qutab have offered 3-4 months's extra wages if the workers left within a few days of launching the scheme. The scheme offered by ITDC, however, does not offer any such incentive.

Earlier, ITDC employees had demanded a voluntary retirement scheme be put in place before the hotels were put on the block. ITDC then approached the government for funds, but the proposal was turned down on the plea that it would delay the privatisation process. Also, it was an expensive proposition.

It was then suggested that a voluntary retirement scheme could be offered before the hotels were put on the block but which would be funded by the new employers.

It was felt that since the corporation would complete all the formalities, would work out the financial requirements and would thus reduce manpower in these hotels, the properties would become more lucrative for the potential buyers.

Under the current scheme, the prospective buyers will be provided with the list of employees whose voluntary retirement scheme options have been accepted by ITDC. The new managements will be then asked to make an upfront payment of the amount.

While inviting such an option, the employees have already been told that they will be given voluntary retirement only on the successful completion of the sale of the hotel to which they belong.

The upfront amount towards the voluntary retirement scheme, which will be obtained from the prospective buyers, will be disbursed by ITDC to the respective hotel's employees only.

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